


It Takes Courage

by cafeinthemoon93



Series: The Nidaime's Assistant [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Difference, Assistant!Reader, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, F/M, Female!Reader - Freeform, Founding of Konoha, Hokage, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Mentioned Senju Hashirama - Freeform, POV Female Character, Past Tense, Reader-Insert, Senju Tobirama Needs a Hug, Shinobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24652246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafeinthemoon93/pseuds/cafeinthemoon93
Summary: By the fact that three other people gave up in just a few a months in it, you already knew it wasn't going to be an easy job to work as assistant of the Second Hokage, but you needed the job, so you accepted it anyway. Now things grew complicated as the days passed, but you were not allowed to complain: you knew since the start that holding such position takes competence, patience and courage. A lot of courage.NOTES- This story will be really short. No big problems, no plot twists. Nothing great or complex here.- I binge-wrote this so I'm not even sure of how accurate (or not) this might sound- I'm not sure if this will end up in a date or something, but well let's just find out XD
Relationships: Senju Tobirama & You, Senju Tobirama/Reader
Series: The Nidaime's Assistant [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795480
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> I've recently read a preference with the founding trio of Konoha by @scenariosofkonoha on Tumblr and it inspired me to create this one shot with a female!reader who is assigned to work as Tobirama's assistant, because reader worked as his assistant in their preference.
> 
> Here's the link in case you want to read the original post:
> 
> (https://scenariosofkonoha.tumblr.com/post/182064835573/headcanons-founders-trio-what-if-their-femso-was)
> 
> Though I've put this work as a part of a series, you don't need to read the entire series to understand the story. Each part of it can be read separately.
> 
> PART I (this one) - COMPLETE  
> PART II (That Wasn't a Genjutsu) - COMPLETE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were just assigned to your new job, but you already have your opinions on what you saw there: the amount of paper with which you had to deal, the rules, the minor tasks - and the Hokage's personality. You think it's too soon to share what you thought, so you planned to wait and see more. But, well, your parents wouldn't let you.
> 
> And when you finally sat with them and said something about your day, their reaction was not exactly what you expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this so fast I'm still shocked lol Writing reader insert fics is so easy and satisfying that I wonder why I took so long to start using this style. Anyway, I hope you enjoy ;)

You were not the first to apply for that job, and you knew it. In fact, since news spread fast in Konoha, you’ve been properly informed that you were the fourth person to occupy the position of assistant of the Second Hokage in a few months. Yes, in less than a year three other people were chosen to the position, but they could not hold it for too long. If it was due to their lack of competence, you couldn’t tell, but because you’ve heard the news, you were sure of one thing: it takes more than just competence for one to work – to keep working – with the younger Senju brother. It takes patience. Resilience. And courage.

A lot of courage.

It was something you discovered for yourself right on your first day. You were brought to his presence as soon as you arrived. It wasn’t that you have no confidence in your capacity, but when you’ve heard that your assessment would be handled by Tobirama Senju himself, and from it you got enough reasons to have your hands shaking: the fact is that his demanding – not to say difficult – nature was equal to his reputation as shinobi, and he never made it a secret. The man was hard at work, and he expected nothing less from the ones who worked by his side; and now you were assigned as one of his closest personnel, which meant you were going to have his eyes on all your movements.

However, you weren’t expecting this: your assessment would be finished in two days. The Hokage said that he was going to give you a basic task list and explain your duties, then you were going to perform the mentioned tasks under his supervision. In other words, if your performance was good enough, the job was yours.

\- It is not difficult at all – he stated – All you need to do is to pay attention to what I say and to focus on what is in front of you. Once you get used to this, you will be capable of handling anything else.

You just nodded to show you agreed with the conditions, but somewhere in your mind there was a voice screaming that if everything was so easy, why did he have to look for a fourth assistant in so little time? When you raised your eyes to him, however, you made your best efforts to bury this thought on the depths of your mind: you weren’t sure if he was capable of reading minds, but you sensed that, as observant man, his analyzing skills could be used in a way that not being careful on what you think when you’re under his eye was a bad idea.

Fortunately for you, he made no comments about what you might be thinking nor mentioned the fact that you were not his first assistant, probably because you already knew it, but you decided to believe it was because you needed to draw your own path on this and digging into the previous workers’ experiences would not help you at all. They had nothing to do with you.

When you came back home by the end of that day, your parents were waiting for you. Of course they gave you some time to rest and eat instead of attacking you with a bunch of questions, but you saw it coming anyway, so when they sat with you in the living room, it wasn’t a big surprise; in fact, you already knew what they were going to ask.

\- So, how was your day, y/n? – your mother started – I hope everything was okay.

You gave her a brief, positive reply.

Now it was your father’s turn. He was always more specific with information seeking than your mother.

\- Are not you going to tell us about your first day on the new job, dear? Was it too difficult? Too easy? How did the Hokage treat you?

Yes, that was your father: always asking the right questions, never playing around. You wish you could’ve had more time to think about your day before answering so many questions at once, but you did your best with what you had.

\- Though I had more things to do than I did in my previous jobs, I can’t say it was that difficult. You know, father, it’s not like I’ve never had to deal with paper in my life. I think it’s just a question of time... I mean, for gaining experience and for adaptation.

You tried not to give them much details, because your own vision of the facts were still to settle. Besides, you avoided to answer your father’s last question: you could even say you had some of your opinions on Tobirama confirmed, but it was too soon to make any statement, since you knew him just as the Hokage and not as a person, and he didn’t know you too; he just knew your resume.

Unfortunately for you, your father was a persistent man.

\- Yes, that’s good, that’s good – he started – But I wanted to know more about…

Now you couldn’t contain your exasperation.

\- I understand you worries, father, but honestly, they are a bit unfounded, since we’re talking about the Hokage here, right? – you then added a smile to diminish the harshness of your first words – It’s still too soon to be sure of anything, but all I can say for now is that we have nothing to worry about. Tobirama-sama is a professional and a respectable man. He’s not much of a talker, so we only exchanged the necessary words. He’s smart and articulated. He has no difficulties to make himself clear, and he’s one of the most practical people when it comes to doing what needs to be done. I believe this is not so different from what everyone says about him, isn’t it?

One look at your father and you saw he was satisfied. But, well, you couldn’t help but finishing your description with what’s been around your mind all the day.

\- However, he’s not the sweetest person I’ve ever met.

Your parents’ reaction to this latter comment were nothing like you expected: both your mother and your father just laughed at the bitterness on your tone. You were never the type to say bad things about others or curse, specially when you barely knew the object of your talking; so that was the hardest thing you were capable to say about Tobirama Senju.

Still, that was your opinion, and you wanted it to be respected at least on your house. You soon got mad at their laughter.

\- What’s so funny?

When they finally ceased the laughing, your mother was the first to speak.

\- The Hokage must have been too bad for our girl to make her saying these awful things about him!

You were about to reply, when your father, more controlled, explained:

\- Y/n, dear, we all know he’s not like his brother, Hashirama. We simply cannot expect to get along with him since the start. It takes time for one to get to know him, and to get used to him. But try to see things through his eyes. Tobirama-sama belongs to another generation, one with a different vision of life and a different way of raising kids. His early life was not like yours. He was never given the chance to be… how could I put it in words... to be _soft_ , you understand?

While you were quiet, processing your father’s words, your mother, whose smile tempered her words, added to his observations:

\- And, yes, you could point out that his brother’s life was as hard as his own, but consider that they’re not the same. Every person has their own way to respond to what life puts in their way, and we cannot expect everyone to always agree with each other’s responses. See ourselves as an example – she made a gesture to indicate you three – Your father and I still find reasons to argue after all these years, and we find reasons to disagree with you sometimes.

After hearing all of this in silence, and despite you were convinced your reasons weren’t as simple as they thought, you decided you couldn’t argue with their logic, at least not at that moment. You were a bit tired, and now that you had other opinions to examine alongside yours, you saw that some of the reasons you’d use to defend your own would honestly sound a little petty, and even childish, if you’ve said them out loud. Still, you didn’t believe your mother’s example was appropriate to the case, since you were talking about personality, but you didn’t mention that. Besides, you thought that our experiences should not interfere in the way we deal with others, specially when they had nothing to do with our problems. And you said that to your parents.

Your father nodded.

\- You’re right, dear, but well, give him a chance. It’s just your first day, right?

You said you would try. You kissed them and went to your room.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the short period of assessment, you were approved as the Hokage's new assistant by the man himself. You were happy with such accomplishment, and both your parents were proud of you. But, as time passed, you start to make certain discoveries that didn't help to maintain your happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I feel my own hands shaking every time I read reader's phrases in this chapter XD She's so pissed she can't contain herself. Also I don't create hcs often, but I'm totally into this idea of Tobirama being that person who takes all day to properly identify when he himself was the source of her minor annoyances and building tension that resulted in her "strange and unexpected" outburst.

When you were younger, you were, by all means, a good and organized student, which turned you into a capable worker when you started in your professional area. You had positive feedback from your previous supervisors, and their recommendations granted you the position in which you were now; you had no reasons to doubt your own talents. The first two days passed, and at the end of the second one you were informed that you passed the assessment. Now you were officially the Hokage’s Assistant.

Of course you were happy with this, and so were your parents. However, your suspicions that the amount of tasks and their level of difficulty were not going to be your biggest challenge in this new job were soon confirmed.

And this confirmation came in the form of small discoveries.

An example of this was that time when you arrived five minutes later than usual. You weren’t really late – your shift didn’t start yet and, to speak the truth, you were never the type to get late for your appointments – and you didn’t even notice the insignificant delay; but it didn’t go unnoticed by Tobirama, who greeted you with some subtle advise about “being careful and have a watch always close in order to maintain the punctuality”. From that day on, you did your best to arrive earlier. But, despite your efforts, he always managed to arrive first, so that he always knew exactly when you came.

There was also a time when you came into his office with a pile of paper and left it on his table. You were about to turn your back to leave when something outside the window caught your attention, and you stopped to look. It was something trivial, so you didn’t even think of approaching the window, but it didn’t matter, since you didn’t have the time to do so; and so you never found out what it was, if a bird, a kite or anything else.

You startled when you heard the Hokage’s voice cut the silence of the room.

\- What is it, y/n?

You immediately turned to him.

\- Oh… nothing.

He was not exactly irritated, but you sensed his eyes piercing you behind the table.

\- We are busy today. There is no time for distractions.

You didn’t give a verbal answer. You just nodded and left the room. Only when you found yourself at a safe distance from his office, you dared to think “has there ever been a day when we were not busy?”

It was only during your lunch time that you found opportunity to be alone with your thoughts, which was the best you could get since you weren’t brave enough to verbalize your opinions and then have to deal with the gossip in which it would result. The case was that you tried to convince yourself that you were just new to the position, and you needed more time of adaptation and there was nothing wrong with it, but you were tired. You started to feel not only tired, but also sad and frustrated. You tried your best – you _gave_ your best to stay on that place. You revised every report that came to your hands, organized every pile of archive, corrected every grammatical error; your table was cleaned up twice a day, and you never, _never_ , arrived late. But none of this seemed to be enough for Tobirama Senju. Your best wasn’t enough for him. It wasn’t like he would spend more energy on trying to find failures on your work instead of positive traits, though; he simply did it, with no effort. No matter what methods you’d try, he would always find something to fix, some reason to give you an advice, anything. The more you worked to improve, the more he demanded from you. It was like an eternal cycle from which you couldn’t escape.

On the other hand, you needed the job; you’ve been planning to move out from your parents’ house, so you had to manage your bills all by yourself. And not just this: they wanted to see you becoming a successful young woman in your area, and for now it meant working with the Hokage. It was an honor for them to have a daughter in such position. An honor… thinking about it almost made you cry: was it worthy to be given this honor if it didn’t make you happy?

During this difficult time, one of your small sources of pleasure was visiting a candy store by the end of your shift. The store was not far away from your workplace, and it was exactly on the way to your house. The candies were not expensive, but you were always careful on how much you would spend on them. You visited it so many times that you became friends with the owner.

Because you knew that the shop’s entry was visible from his office’s window, you considered possible that Tobirama knew about your preference for their products. Fortunately, he never made a single reference to it, nor he was the type to make comments about how other people choose to spend their money. By this time, however, your tiredness were turning into annoyance, so if he would ever say a word about it, you would solemnly ignore it and continue to buy your candies whenever you want. But, well, maybe he didn’t even know about your favorite shop; maybe he knew nothing about his assistant that didn’t have connections to what he saw during her shifts, and he didn’t care.

The change in your mood was noticed by both your parents. Your mother asked about it one day, and when you said it was just the amount of work that was making you tired, she nodded and didn’t dig deeper. Your father was harder to dissuade: he asked if everything was okay, and when you gave him the same answer you gave to your mother, he seemed a bit suspicious; he asked if you were frustrated, and if such frustration was because you found out something you weren’t expecting about your job. You reassured him, explaining that you were just tired and it was not due to anything unpleasant regarding the job or the people who worked with you. You sensed he wanted to ask more, but he must have noticed you didn’t want to be interrogated and left you alone with your thoughts.

You waited for time to pass, and for things to settle, and for your stress and frustration to go away, but none of this happened. You held on to what your parents have said about differences and such on your first day, but it didn’t help you. You kept trying to perform your work as perfect as possible, but things remained the same. The last drops of your patience were now slipping from you. Now you understood why no one was capable of maintaining their position as the Hokage’s assistant; now you understood that, whatever the failures they might have committed, the fault was not theirs. It couldn’t be. The case was now clear to you: all that situation was simply unbearable. And no one – not a single person – would have the courage to face Tobirama and tell him so. Honestly, not even you had such courage; you never complained, never questioned an order, never misbehaved. You kept absorbing everything.

So, when the day you broke your character finally came, the scene was unbelievable even for yourself.

On this day, you’ve spent an entire hour checking a document, and when you were sure that no mistakes were present, you separated it and took it to the Hokage. You entered his office, explained the nature of the document and put it on the table, preparing to leave.

You didn’t take one step when Tobirama told you to go back. When you turned, you saw the document on his right hand, as the left one examined its last page; his eyes didn’t even raised to you when he spoke.

\- There’s something on the third page that needs to be revised. Take it and bring it back to me when you finish it.

You felt your hands shaking. That wasn’t possible. After all the time you’ve spent on these damn papers?! You took a deep breath.

\- Tobirama-sama, that’s strange. I’ve spent one hour re-reading and revising these papers. I’ve spotted every error on them and re-wrote everything myself. If there’s an obvious failure on this document, I am sure I’d be capable of identifying it.

Your words didn’t seem to affect his mood, for he just pushed the papers on the table and demanded you to take them.

\- But it seems that this was exactly what happened, y/n. I understand you’ve spent much time on this task, but I’m sure you can still use a few minutes to fix this.

You didn’t reply. You approached the table and raised your hands to take the document, but something – you’re still not sure what or how – made you quickly move them away. You felt a choke in your throat, and your heart was beating fast.

Suddenly being silent became too painful for you to handle.

\- I… I… No!

Time seemed to stop. The wind out there was no longer blowing, and even the birds seemed to stop their singing. You were shaking and your feet almost failed, but you felt strangely relieved. You didn’t know what was going to happen, but somehow you felt free.

And you would need to use that freedom to face the storm coming.

Once he heard what you said, Tobirama raised his eyes from the paper and gazed you with an indecipherable look: if he was shocked, angry or anything else you couldn’t tell, but you needed no hurry, for you’d soon find out.

His words were simple.

\- No? What do you mean, no?

Now your tongue couldn’t be controlled.

\- I mean exactly what I said – your voice was low at first, but it grew louder as you spoke – I am not going to revise this document, as I will not revise anything else for you, Tobirama-sama. I am no longer your assistant.

Now you were capable of identify the look in his eyes: he was wondering what were you talking about.

\- Y/n, I don’t remember firing you.

\- I am firing myself! – you found the phrase ridiculous as soon as it left your lips, but you didn’t care at all – I can’t continue working for you! Actually, I am unable to do so!

He was still calm in front of what he was seeing, and still seemed not to understand your sudden rage.

\- I’d like to you to explain why you are no longer able to work for me, y/n. I see no problem with your performance. If so, I would have already started looking for another assistant.

That answer of his, said in such imperturbable tone, only increased your anger.

\- Explain? – you almost choke in your indignation – Do I really need to explain my reasons to you, Tobirama-sama? You say you see no problem with my performance but the way you act says exactly the opposite! You always find mistakes in everything I do, no matter how hard I try, how many times I revise my tasks, no matter what I… Nothing I do is good enough for you! Never! And I’m exhausted!

You moved to turn away and leave the room, but his persistent silence hurt you more than a thousand harsh words would do in its place, you lingered there and said even more.

\- Do you know why no one was able to keep working with you? – he was still silent. So you answered your own question – Because no one can take this! No one can take your perfectionism and your arrogance! The problem was never them, it was never me, the problem is you, Tobirama-sama! It is you!

You didn’t wait to hear a response, if there have been anything that would serve as a response. What else could be said? That you didn’t need to come back on the next day?

You left the Hokage’s office, and then the building after catching your stuff from your table. You walked fast through the streets until you found some place where you could be alone for a moment before going home. When you did, you sat on a little wood box and, covering your face with your hands, you cried hard.

You were convinced you did your best, you tried to make it work, but one simple cannot work for two when it comes to team work. You didn’t understand why this was happening, why did he choose to make things so difficult for you, but you didn’t care, not anymore. He would have to look for his next assistant, and you were sure he would never find someone capable of handling as much as you did. He would pay for his arrogance. But, well, why would you care?

After countless minutes there, you stood up, took a deep breath and cleaned your face. Now you had to find the less shocking way to tell your parents what happened and start to look for a new job.


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally came home after that turbulent event. You wanted to tell your parents about it, but you didn't have the courage to do so. So you went out to walk, think ad buy some candies. What you weren't expecting was to have some company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning to finish this story on the third chapter, but turned out that it would be too long if I did, so there will be a fourth chapter.
> 
> This story is being so soft that I will miss working on it when it ends, but it doesn't have to be the only one of its kind, right? Writing with Tobirama is something I'm enjoying so much that I definitely want to create more stuff with him in the future <3

The episode at the Hokage’s office happened by the last moments of your shift, so that you didn’t have to create an excuse for coming home earlier. You just needed to spend a few minutes around the village – maybe visiting shops, meeting a friend or getting something to eat – and then you would walk home when your sobs were ceased and the redness in your eyes was gone. The last thing you wanted to do was facing your parents and their interrogatory as soon as you stepped into your house. This was, by the way, one of the reasons why you’ve started to think of moving out: though you loved and respected your parents, they weren’t the most circumspect people you knew, and sometimes there were things you’d rather keep to yourself.

On that specific day, all you wanted was them to leave you alone.

When you finally arrived, you tried not to make too much noise, as always, and when you heard your mother’s steps coming from the kitchen, you entered the bathroom as fast as you could. Your father came home an hour later, and when you finally met them at the living room, you said through trembling lips:

\- I need to tell you something.

They looked at you, confused: you never started a conversation using these words before. You just spoke and fell silent, which increased their preoccupation.

\- Well, dear? – your father encouraged you after a while – You were going to tell us something? Is everything okay?

You looked at him with what must have seemed to be a blank face and, once you met their look, you gave up on telling them. You simply couldn’t stand the thought of having them shocked or disappointed, not now. So you ended up saying you were thinking out loud. Your father wasn’t convinced, but he said nothing.

A few minutes later, you stood up and said you were going out to buy something you forgot when you left the office; the shops were still open and you wanted to go before it grew dark. Fortunately, they just nodded and your mother asked you to buy some candies for her in case you were visiting your friend’s store.

You changed your clothes, grabbed your bag and left the house.

On the outside, it was darker than you expected. It didn’t discourage you, though; you closed the door behind you and walked through your silent street.

As you walked, you sensed something. It wasn’t easy to determine the nature of that sensation, but this was the closest definition you were able to find: you had a feeling that you were not alone. You stopped, looked behind you and at your sides, but didn’t see anyone. It was just an impression; besides, you’ve been overwhelmed with all sorts of tension these days, which must have messed with your perception.

However, when you turned to keep walking, you saw a shadow approaching. Soon, you were able to identify the person casting it. Once you did, you held your breath.

\- Ah… Tobirama-sama?!

Your voice sounded strange even to yourself when it came out. He didn’t reply; he just kept walking toward you. You took a step back but didn’t think of running away; you knew about his capacities as a sensor shinobi: trying to run from someone who could sense your presence wherever you were was both silly and useless. So you stood on your place and waited for him to approach.

When he finally stopped in front of you, you hid your hands behind your back; you didn’t want him to see them shaking. You weren’t sure if it worked, but it didn’t matter.

Tobirama nodded.

\- Evening, y/n.

You swallowed, then replied properly.

\- Evening, Hokage-sama.

The brief seconds of silence that followed your greeting felt like an eternity. But then he spoke again.

\- May I join you? I’d like to talk to you.

Would it work if you said no?, you thought. Probably not.

\- Yes… Yes, of course.

And after this strange dialogue, you saw yourself walking side by side with the Hokage. You were looking around, listening to the sounds of the night approaching as you left your street and started to spot more people and more light coming from the windows. Since he offered to accompany you, you were waiting for him to start the real conversation; by that time, you knew enough of him to understand that he would start talking when he sensed the right time for it.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to happen.

\- I’ve been thinking about what happened in the office today. About your words after you left. And I want to apologize for creating the reasons that led you to such attitude.

This was Tobirama Senju – never wasting time, always on point. There was a time when you’d put this trait under a negative light and take it as simple rudeness, but now you were glad for it: it spared you both from unnecessary uneasiness.

Thanks to this objectivity, you felt safe to react; you were quick to reply.

\- I want to apologize too. I should never call you arrogant. It was far from appropriate to speak to the Hokage the way I did.

You looked at him in order to see his reaction, to read in his posture or expression some sign of what was on his mind. You saw him nodding in agreement.

His tone on his next words carried a considerable difference from what you used to hear in the office: they weren’t exactly softer, but you could say that in case of not finding a better way to describe it.

\- Y/n, I recognize my responsibility for your negative feelings, but I also need to say that there was a misunderstanding on them.

Those words caught you off guard. A misunderstanding? What was he talking about? But all you said was:

\- Well, I’m listening.

\- When I demanded from you the things that led you to such feelings – he started – My intent was to bring your abilities to higher levels of excellence. I was preparing you for your next months as my assistant. I demanded so much from you because I was convinced that you were able to deal with it. Not for a single moment I doubted your capacity. I did recognize your efforts, your intelligence and your talents since the start, otherwise I would have chosen someone else to replace you. But now I understand the way I managed your training was not the best, since it resulted in the events of today. And I apologize for that, but I needed you to hear the whole story, so that you can judge the case for yourself.

So… it was all a big mistake? It was all just a training? He was testing, molding you so you’d become the perfect assistant? You refused to believe what you were hearing at first. How could you miss something as vital as this? Well, it seems that you did. Anyone in your place would do it too; your predecessors probably did. Did it make your outburst unjustified? You weren’t sure, despite the fact that speaking like that with the Hokage just didn’t sit right. On the other hand, you were right when you said the problem wasn’t you, and if you never did so, you would remain in this mistake and the truth would never come out.

You stopped. Though your emotions were making a confusion inside you, the case was now very clear.

Except for one thing.

\- I’m glad I have all the facts now, Tobirama-sama. But there’s something I can’t understand.

\- Yes? And what is it?

You searched for the best way to put it in words.

\- I’m wondering if you never thought about how I was feeling about this. Have you never noticed any negative reaction from me all this time? Any sign of frustration? Anger? Not even sadness? Anything?

Now, it took a moment before he said something. When his answer finally came, it sounded a little shocking to you.

\- Yes, I did.

\- You did?

He nodded.

\- You may not have noticed, but I’ve been observing you. I noticed you grew sadder and tired. Sometimes, I wondered if it was due to the amount of tasks I gave you or anything else. You understand, I have my methods when it comes to training my students, but you are not one of them. And I failed to see the difference. So I decided to talk to you about it. I was going to do this today. The reason why I took so long to take such action might surprise you, but it is true: I did not know how to do it. During this entire week I’ve tried to find a way. In the end I did, but you were faster.

By the changeable lights of the street you weren’t sure, but you had the impression of seeing the shadow of a smile on his face.

You couldn’t see your own face, but you knew you started to blush. So, he was not offended with all that situation; instead, what he felt was something close to self-consciousness. But, why should it be so hard for him to just come to you and talk? You almost opened your mouth to elaborate this exact question, when your father’s words came to your mind.

 _Tobirama-sama belongs to another generation, one with a different vision of life... His early life was not like yours. He_ _was_ _never_ _given_ _the chance to be…_ _soft._

That’s what your father was talking about. Tobirama had many qualities, but things of that matter were a different story. He wasn’t like you; he wasn’t raised like you, with your understanding parents and your freedom to speak your mind and simply be human. What was common to you sounded as something strange to him.

And yet he has been working hard to give the people of Konoha the opportunities he never had; the opportunities you are having right now.

You have started to walk again while you spoke, so you noticed you’ve reached the entry of the candy store.

\- I have to buy something here – you said, indicating the entry – My mother asked me, and I… forgot to come today.

You two entered the shop. You greeted the owner with your usual manners, but once he saw the Hokage with you, his posture changed a bit, his smile more restraint, his voice lower. The old man had his cheeks red when he greeted you.

Before you had the chance to tell him what you wanted to buy, he bent down to grab something hidden behind the balcony, then put it upon the wooden surface. It was a box with various sorts of candies, closed by a delicate stripe. You knew that box was quite expensive just by looking at it; but you didn’t come to buy it anyway.

When you questioned the man about it, he explained:

\- It was bought for you as a gift.

Your eyes widened.

\- A gift? From who?

With the corner of his eye, the man looked at the Hokage. You followed his look and saw Tobirama nodding to confirm what you already suspected.


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are now seeing things you weren't capable of seeing before, and it is not a bad thing. Some important changes came with it, and in the weirdest way possible, you learned that your mother knows best.
> 
> Tobirama Senju is a remarkable man. And you are not blind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the final chapter is here <3 It might disappoint some, but I have to say it fully reached its purpose, and I'm happy with it. I hope you enjoy it, and if you read the notes, I love you! Believe it!

You hesitated for a moment, still not believing it.

So, not only he has been trying to find the best way to talk to you about how his methods of preparation were affecting you, but also bought a gift to you? And from your favorite shop? That only meant that he knew about this preference of yours, which meant that he probably watched when you left your work and visited the place, which in turn meant that he has been in fact observing you. And observing you was his way to come to know you. Of course, he wouldn’t choose someone to work for him and not learn about them. Yes, you’d prefer less subtle methods but, again, it’s was just his way of doing things – understand it, and you will have no problems to understand him.

Tobirama explained the idea of the box.

\- Yesterday, I came here and asked the owner to prepare it. He was going to give it to you in your next visit, which probably would happen today. It is the way I chose to thank you for your services and your improvement.

You noticed he said _it is_ when he should’ve said _it w_ _as_ or something like this. So, his thoughts about your work weren’t changed? Apparently not but, well, now you didn’t know if you were supposed to accept the gift or not.

He might have noticed you were in doubt, for he encouraged you.

\- Please, accept it. I insist.

You made up your mind and took the box from the owner’s hands. You smiled at him, who nodded in silence. You turned to the Hokage and saw the same suggestion of smile on his lips. You said goodbye to the owner and when you both left, you looked at Tobirama and thanked him properly.

\- I’m still not sure if I should accept it – you added, looking at the box – After that.

\- Don’t think about it anymore – he asked – Think of this as a part of my apologies.

After a moment, you said you were going home.

\- I told my parents I had to buy something, but I just needed some time alone. I must now say goodbye, Tobirama-sama.

However, the surprises didn’t cease yet.

\- Y/n, it is dark already. May I accompany you home? I sense your parents are starting to get worried.

Despite your first impulse to say no, you couldn’t argue with this. You didn’t want to worry your parents; but if you came home with the Hokage, they would be more than relieved.

His offer was then accepted and you walked home.

Your street was empty and silent when you reached it. The night was also growing colder, and you started to think you wouldn’t like to be alone there at that time. When you were approaching your house, Tobirama turned to you.

\- I need to ask you something.

You stopped.

\- Yes, Tobirama-sama?

\- Why did you take so long to tell me how you felt about what was happening?

That was a fair question, you realized. Because you were quick to wonder why he took so long to just talk to you, but on your side, you did the same. Your reasons were not the same as his, though, and thinking about them now made you blush.

\- Well, I… I needed the job, so I didn’t want to say or do something that could result in being fired. I was also hoping that everything would change someday. When I realized it was not going to happen, I couldn’t contain myself.

He nodded. When you looked into his eyes, you saw some sort of glimmering in them you didn’t notice before.

\- I see… But there’s another reason for your silence, am I right?

You felt face your burn. Of course you couldn’t expect to hide it from him, but how were you going to explain it?

You tried your best.

\- Yes. It might sound silly now, but the case is that… I was scared of you.

The way he looked at you when he heard these words was hard to describe. Maybe there was a bit of sadness or disappointment in his eyes, you weren’t sure, but it was clear that your answer did not surprise him. As the most powerful shinobi at his time, he was used to be feared; you, in return, must be a fool to not fear him just like everybody else. However, something made you think that it wasn’t his will that you felt like that; it wasn’t that kind of fear he wanted to sense in you every time you were in his presence.

And with his tone as calm as possible, he said that you.

\- Your feelings are understandable, y/n. I cannot blame you for them, for I’m aware that nor my temper nor my manners resemble my brother’s. You see, these kind of things were easier for him – then, to your surprise, he smiled; it was just for a moment, but through that smile you understood what the memory of Hashirama meant to him – My talents, on the other hand, lie on scaring people out. If I knew what can be done about this, I would’ve already done that.

Was that a joke? You never found out. But the smile you saw in his face an instant before encouraged you to smile too.

\- Well, at least I can say that you don’t seem too scary to me now, Tobirama-sama. Thanks to this conversation.

He nodded.

\- It’s good to hear that, y/n, because in this world there are many things you should be scared of, but they do not include me.

A few more steps and you reached your house. You were about to thank him for everything and say goodbye, but then you had an idea.

\- Tobirama-sama, would you like to enter? If my parents are as worried as you said, talking to them would help.

To your surprise, he accepted your invitation. You opened the door and called for your parents.

\- Mom! Dad! I’m home, and we have a visitor!

Your father was in the living room, sitting in his couch with a book on his hands. He raised his eyes to the door (which was visible from his spot) as soon as he heard your voice. He was going to talk, but fell silent when he recognized the Hokage arriving just after you. The man left his book aside and stood up to greet the visitor.

\- But it is the Hokage! My dear, why didn’t you tell me…?

Well, you didn’t plan this; still, you smiled and replied:

\- Let’s say it was a surprise.

The two men greeted each other, following the protocol’s demands. If there was something Tobirama and your father had in common, it was this steady attachment to the formalities. After hearing them exchange the appropriate words, you said you were going to find a place for the candy box in the kitchen.

Before you could leave, your mother appeared in the room with a needle and a fabric strap in her hands. Her reaction wasn’t so different from that of your father when she saw the Hokage by your side.

Tobirama noticed her embarrassment and greeted her with proper gentleness. When she finally calmed down, you asked her to accompany you to the kitchen to prepare some tea. She went to get rid of the needle and when she came back, you two left. When your mother first stepped into the kitchen, her eyes spotted the box and asked about it. When you explained the box’s origin, she looked at you with raised eyebrows; for you knew well the meaning behind that look, you stared at her as intensely as you could, asking her to not say a single word about it. After dealing with the younger Senju brother on a daily basis, you’ve come to learn what it means to have a sensor shinobi close to you.

When you brought the tea and some candies to the living room, you noticed that Tobirama was engaged in a polite conversation about the book your father was reading; this latter was as excited as possible despite his self control, so that he didn’t see the moment you and your mother entered the room.

The whole situation was not as weird as you imagined it would be. You never took the Hokage for the type of engaging in small talk, but he managed to turn a conversation that could easily focus on amenities into something interesting for you three. He asked your father about his work and how he used to spend his free time, then talked about some books that could interest him; when he turned his attention to your mother, he complimented her administration of the house and then started to talk about your improvement as his assistant, pointing out that your mother must’ve done an exceptional work regarding your education. Your face burned and you didn’t look at your mother, afraid to see in her face her true response to this.

It was just for a few minutes, but those minutes were enough for you to see more than you’ve ever saw during the days you’ve spent in the office. When you were younger, your parents talked to you many times about something called the Will of Fire, that basically meant that every person in the village must see the people who lived with them as their own family. This Will must be even deeper in the Hokage’s case, according to them. However, you’ve never thought about it the way you did that night. By that time, when each villager was probably at home minding their own business, Tobirama Senju was there with your family, spending his time and attention with your parents, as a part of his efforts to solve the uncomfortable situation with you. You could count on your fingers the amount of people you knew that would do as much as he did if they were in his place.

Yes, you could argue about his methods regarding work, but what you saw proved that his belief in this Will was an undeniable fact.

When you followed him outside after he said goodbye to your parents, you thanked him for accepting your invitation and apologized again. You remembered he told you to forget about that, but you couldn’t help it.

Tobirama didn’t reprehend you for that. Instead, he explained he still wanted you as his assistant.

\- Not only you were the one with the highest level of improvement, but I understand how you need the job.

You blushed.

\- You understand? What do you mean?

\- There were days when I sensed you were quieter than usual, as if you were absorbed by some important matter – he answered with a smile – I didn’t know what it was, but one day, when I came to your table, I noticed you left some notes with addresses on it. They belonged to residences for rent. That could only mean that you were planning to move out.

You didn’t say a word to that. So, he knew it too? And you stood there, thinking he didn’t pay any attention to you. Silly you.

\- Of course the decision to continue in the position is entirely yours – he added – But I would be glad if you said yes. It seems that I need someone to tell me if I am being scary.

A smiled came to your lips before you could contain it. But now you didn’t care. You already knew what to answer.

\- I will come back, Tobirama-sama. And I will work twice as hard.

He thanked you for accepting his offer and then you said farewell to each other.

When you came back inside your house, you lingered at the front door before reaching to the living room. Your father’s book was on his hands again, but his attention was on the conversation he was having with your mother. You heard only a part of it, but it didn’t surprise you at all.

Your father turned to you, laughing.

\- Y/n, dear, that was what you meant when you said you had something to tell us? If so, you managed to surprise us in the most shocking way! That’s what I was telling your mother right now!

He then started to compliment the Hokage’s intelligence and politeness, saying it was too kind of him to make them a visit. Your mother, with her cheeks all red, agreed with every word. At some point, they looked at you.

\- You seem so quiet, girl – your father said with a worried tone – And your face is so blushed. Are you feeling well?

You put a hand on your face and sensed the heat in your skin. The consciousness of it only made it grow. But before you opened your mouth to reply, your mother laughed and gave you a clever look.

\- I don’t blame you, my dear. The Hokage is a remarkable man, and we know you have eyes.

Your face burned with indignation.

\- Mom!

She didn’t seem to care.

\- I was already your age, y/n. There’s nothing to worry about.

You knew your mother, so you also knew that arguing was useless. You went to your room to avoid witnessing the continuity of the conversation, partly because you were a little tired, and partly because deep inside you knew your mother was right.

***

You went back to the office the next day. You were nervous, for you were not sure of what was waiting for you that time, but in the end, you sensed a sign that things would really get better. First, Tobirama and you agreed that there would be no secrets regarding your work: no matter the problem, you would be clear about it. You would not allow the lack of confidence in each other get in your way.

As the days passed, the changes started to show, and their effects were sensed by you both. Your mutual respect and admiration grew deeper, and though the problems did not diminish, you were capable of dealing with them in the best way. Your professional qualities increased as you learned from the Hokage’s experience, and your confidence in him replaced your fear.

Then it came the time when you were able to move from your parent’s house. They were worried about you, since you were always close to them, but now they trusted you as never before; they knew their daughter would manage things with excellence.

Alongside being your superior, Tobirama became a good friend of yours. As your father said, it took time for you to know and get used to him, but finally you found a way to get along with each other. Well, it’s fair to say he became your closest friend. You communicated often outside the office, and whenever the chance appeared, he would take you home after work. You smiled often in each other’s presence, and then the smallest trait of tension that existed in the beginning of your relationship disappeared. Nothing was planned; it just happened. You weren’t sure about how it would end, but you were willing to find out.

In the end, you learned that it takes more than competence to conquer your place in this world, whether your mission includes organizing paper or facing the Hokage and tell him what no one would dare.

It takes courage.


End file.
